Saturday 4 April 2015 19:49, UK
World No 1 Rory McIlroy says he may need to slightly curb his attacking instincts if he is to triumph at the Masters next weekend.
The famous Augusta event is the only one of the major tournaments to have eluded McIlroy so far and he threw away a four-shot lead in 2011, plummeting down the leaderboard on the final day as he carded a disastrous 80.
However, the 25-year-old bounced back to open his major account at the US Open two months later and, four years on, he thinks he now knows how to ensure he remains in the mix at Augusta.
"I have to play the par fives more efficiently," McIlroy told the Daily Telegraph.
"I can reach all the par fives in two, without even hitting driver. Yet maybe I have to curb my natural enthusiasm to go for pins, and instead go for fours, not threes.
One slip in concentration and you make that double bogey that really drops you down the field. If there's any course in the world where you need 100 per cent concentration for the full four days, it's Augusta.”
“For example, on the second, when they put the pin on the left, then maybe just play down to the bottom right and have an easy chip up the green. It's still a shot gained.
"And focus is everything there. One slip in concentration and you make that double bogey that really drops you down the field.
“If there's any course in the world where you need 100 per cent concentration for the full four days, it's Augusta.”
Former World No 1 Tiger Woods confirmed on Thursday that he will play at the Masters and will seek to add to his amazing tally of 14 major victories.
Woods has slipped out of the top 100 in the world rankings in recent years due to injuries and erratic form while McIlroy has become the hottest property in the game.
However, the Northern Irishman does not think he will replicate the impact that Woods has had on the sport.
"People tell me I am the new face of golf, but that is a hard one for me to fathom because, growing up, I never even thought about being that," he said.
"Tiger Woods is the face of the game to the wider public and I don't think I'll ever be that, just because of who I am, who he is, what he represents and the people he brought to the sport.
“I'm never going to do that, it's not something that's going to be possible."
Watch all four days of the Masters from Thursday April 9 live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.
